Responsibilities of a Vampire
by Echoing Fantasy
Summary: AU. Despite popular human opinion, a proper vampire will take care of his Feeders. Which is why when Reborn meets his own in a mall reeking of hurt and trying not to cry, he doesn't ignore it. R27 fluff. Vampire!Reborn. Oneshot.


_Responsibilities of a Vampire_

"_...and the beast feasted upon her pale flesh, laying open her sleeping robes with a wicked claw, reveling in her gasps and moans of pleasure. The young woman trembled as his teeth sank in further, the pull of her blood making her dizzy. She found nothing but weakness in her limbs, and had no desire to push away the man that was ravaging her so thoroughly-"_

Snorting with a combination of disgust and disbelief, Reborn put the book back on the shelf and turned away. What was it with humans and the theory that vampires fucked the women they drank from? The very idea of it was absurd – humans were fodder to vampires, animals that were kept penned to be eaten when hungry. They were the cattle of the vampire world, and as far as Reborn knew, no sane human would go around fucking their next hamburger while it was being processed.

But then again, times _had _changed. Raking a hand through his dark hair, Reborn slid his fedora back into place. Human females seemed to find great pleasure in the idea that something "not of this world" desired them. Aliens, vampires, werewolves, and a million other creatures of myth and legend had been written into stories to play the part of the "ravager of virgin flesh", and while all of them sold very well, they were dull and dreary to Reborn. Maybe it was because the idea didn't translate over very well to vampires, who took one look at books like that and gagged. Even those with Feeders, humans that gave their bodies over to the vampire for regular bouts of food, didn't find such stories appealing.

If one had to guess (and Reborn would), he would say that such stories had roots in a vampire finding a Feeder in a young woman that had misinterpreted the position, or perhaps desired more out of her relationship with the vampire. At least it looked that way to Reborn's eyes; such things had happened before, and would undoubtedly happen again. It was why the covenant discouraged vampires taking Feeders below a certain age; mental maturity and understanding was best to be found in the older humans, even if it meant having to replace a trusted Feeder every few decades. It prevented silly humans from getting ideas like _this _in their head.

Of course, he thought as he exited the bookstore, even with such preventative measures in place, humans seemed to get the strangest ideas. Maybe it was part and parcel of the species. Maybe it was just a trend the humans were going through, like the horrible creation known as the Disco Era. He doubted it, as the books had been going on for several years now, and had only gotten more risque throughout the various years. And was it him, or were the writers of such novels getting younger?

A mouth-watering scent drew the vampire from his thoughts. Sticking his nose in the air, though not enough to warrant attention of passer-byes, he sniffed. His eyebrows lifted as he recognized the scent – it belonged to that of his own Feeder, a young man named Tsunayoshi. Taking a moment to track the smell told him that his Feeder was somewhere down in the supermarket area of the mall. Smiling at the pleasant coincidence, Reborn set his path to that and strolled along.

It had been about three weeks since they'd last met up, and he was curious what Tsunayoshi had gotten up to in that time. The last time they'd talked he'd had a personal project going on, a sort of test about something according to him. He'd promised to give Reborn the results the next time they'd met up, as well as the overall idea of what the project actually _was. Curiosity_ had burned the vampire ever since then, which was part of the reason he'd come here. He needed something to distract his mind, because he wasn't a fledgling that went around bothering his sire for treats until they caved. No, he had much more dignity than that, even if the various pouts he'd thrown at his Feeder might make the human think otherwise.

It wasn't until Reborn reached the market itself that a secondary scent made itself known. Frowning, Reborn took in a deep breath, only to start hacking and coughing as the repugnant, salty odor of depression mixed with anger found him. Covering his mouth and nose and ignoring the strange looks he was getting, Reborn quickened his pace down the aisles, using his eyes rather than his nose. To vampires, emotions held odors, and those of negative context usually smelled of rotting food tinted with various other things. The salt was from tears, but the main body holding his Feeder was rage.

He found Tsuna in the canned food aisle, shoulders hunched and head down as he stared at something in his hand. At his side was a cart packed with various foods and drinks, telling Reborn he was here for his monthly re-supplying of the fridge. Reborn reached out to touch his elbow, a signal they'd come up with in their first month together to prevent Tsuna from accidentally lashing out against the vampire. The boy wasn't very touch-oriented, and what few touches he did get he usually flinched away from. Touching was, according to him, only something the bullies did when they were threatening or beating him.

Tsuna's shoulders still twitched upwards in surprise, but his elbow didn't swing up to knock Reborn in the gut or something similar. Rather than look up to the vampire, Tsuna turned his face further away. "Reborn, its good to see you."

"Hard to say, considering you're _not_ looking at me, Tsunayoshi," Reborn replied, voice somewhat muffled due to the fact that he'd pulled the top of his shirt over his mouth and nose to prevent the smell getting through. "What happened?"

"What makes you think something happened?" The words were probably intended to come out smooth and calm, Reborn thought with a sigh, but they came out hitched and quivering instead. Reaching forward, he gently took Tsuna's arm again and guided him around to face Reborn. When he still refused to look at the man, Reborn put a hand under his chin and guided his face up. His eyes were averted, but the skin around them was puffy and red, a sure sign he'd been crying. His nose was also red, and from the marks on his lips Reborn could tell he'd been biting them to prevent himself from having a relapse.

Anger found a home in his stomach. Very little could make Tsuna _cry. _Make him whine or complain, yes. But never cry. And it made Reborn want to put his fist through something, or call up _Colonnello, _to track down whoever had done it.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Tsuna didn't say anything for a moment. "It's stupid," he muttered at last, tucking his hands into his armpits as though cold, shoulders hunched and looking away. Reborn didn't say anything, merely took up the spot at the front of the cart, and gestured around. Tsuna led him down the aisle, the item in his hands joining those already in the cart. They walked in silence for a good hour while Tsuna collected various things from his list, and paid for them at the checkout. Reborn packaged everything quickly but neatly away into the bags, making it so that nothing would get squished or broken.

Neither of them had a car, but neither of their places were far from the mall. Tsuna lived only four blocks away, and Reborn three beyond that. Tsuna's house was small, enough for one person and some company for the night, with a few pieces of good, strong furniture and not much else. No TV, no radio, nothing that would distract him from his studies. There was a futon and a mattress in one corner of the room, a writing desk in the other, a sofa in the third, and a light in the fourth. In-between that were several small boxes, a writing table, and books on technical know-how and languages.

Reborn helped him put his groceries away, neither saying anything to the other. The silence was somewhat comfortable, although there was still the heavy weight of curiosity above Reborn's head. He knew Tsuna would tell him what happened eventually – he always did – but sometimes he wondered if the reason Tsuna waited so far down the line to tell him was because he thought Reborn would immediately go out and slaughter people in retribution. Really, even _he _wasn't that uncouth.

Finally though everything was put away, and Tsuna collapsed on the couch with one of his language books. Reborn didn't even bother asking, merely pushing himself close and letting Tsuna curl up like a content cat next to him. The next few hours were filled with silence, Tsuna only giving up his position to gather some notebooks from nearby and make himself and his guest a cup of tea.

As the day grew late though, he finally answered Reborn's question. "Kensuke tore it apart."

Reborn, half-dozing, came out of his quiet nap. "Why?"

Tsuna shrugged. "Said a kid like me wouldn't understand anything beyond simple words and pretty picture books. He tore my thesis up, all my papers, and threw my project out into the street. The cars hit it – I couldn't even salvage anything from it." Despite his lax tone, his hands were beginning to clench down on the books a little harder. Reborn reached out, curling the smaller hands in his own, nuzzling the boy's temple in an effort to help him calm down. Tsuna's natural scent was slowly starting to come back, and he didn't want it to leave so soon.

"Remind me again," Reborn said, consideration lacing his voice, "why I didn't just whisk you away to Italy when I had the chance and lock you in my dungeon somewhere?"

Tsuna's lips twitched a bit. "You mean in your evil overlord palace, where you conduct all your evil experiments and mad science?"

"Mhmm." The nuzzling moved down to his neck. Tsuna made a face but didn't move away. He was picky when it came to affection, Reborn had found. Too much would scare him off, and not enough would put him in a sour mood. "I would give you anything you wanted. You would have had a room just like mine. One with silk pillows and a nice big bed that you would have loved to snuggle on..."

Tsuna's cheeks were turning pink. "I blame you for that. I was perfectly fine with an ordinary bed until you came along. You ruined me with all that finery."

"Oh I did, did I?" Reborn's grin was clear even in his voice. "Well, you can't tell me that a sweet boy like you doesn't deserve to be spoiled every now and again, hm?" He rubbed his cheek against Tsuna's before drawing back. He chuckled when Tsuna rubbed at the spot where his had just touched as if he'd been infected with something. Evidently, he'd reached his limit of affection for the day.

"I'm fine without being spoiled. I'm just a regular kid."

"No, you're my Feeder. That makes you special."

"By who's standards?!"

"Mine." Said in a tone that suggested the Word of God would be less firm.

Tsuna rolled his eyes, face now red, and tried to bury himself back in his book. It did no good, as Reborn merely scooped him up and deposited him in his lap, pulling the book away. "Now, what would you like me to do about this Mochida character, hm? This is the third time he's terrorized you, and the first time he's reduced you to tears. I don't take kindly to his sort, particularly where my Feeders are concerned."

"Feeder_s_? You mean there's more than me?"

"Tsuna." The teasing had stopped.

The boy squirmed, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "I-I don't know! I mean, he's a bastard yeah, but we're young adults _– _we're not expected to get along about everything."

"Yes, but he actively seeks you out to make your day hell. I'd be fine if you two bumped into each other at some school event and he pulled this shit, but he's hunting you down to make your life miserable. I'm the only one allowed to do that." Reborn tapped his own chest.

Tsuna squirmed a bit more. "You don't make me miserable," he told the man softly.

"Glad to know. But back to the topic at hand." He raised an eyebrow.

Tsuna sighed. "I don't know, okay? Just... don't overdo it, whatever you plan. No broken bones, or dead bodies, or anything that can be traced back to me." The fact that he didn't bother to include Reborn in that last part told the vampire just how much confidence Tsuna had in his ability to disappear off the map entirely.

"Hmm. Well, I'm sure I can come up with something. I'll talk to Mammon later and see if we can't come up with something nice for your... friend. In the meantime though..." He picked Tsuna up bodily, slinging him over his shoulder, ignoring the yelp and the fluttering hands that finally settled on gripping the back of his shirt.

"W-wait, where are you taking me?! Reborn, put me down, I have to study!"

"You can study at my house. You need proper sleep tonight, and that can only be done on a luxurious bed like my own." He smirked.

"You're just saying that because you're hungry!"

"Hmm, now that you mention it I am getting a bit peckish. I suppose I'll just have to pamper you more for feeding me tonight." He sent the boy a loving look, one that never failed to make him blush. Right on cue, Tsuna's face burned scarlet again.

"Wha-? I wasn't-! Y-you don't have to-."

"Yes, but what if I want to?"

Reborn snickered at Tsuna's floundering. The smell of rot and salt had vanished completely, replaced by the warm spices of embarrassment and the sweetness of a love Reborn easily returned a thousand times over. Tsuna fell silent before long, content to dangle from Reborn's shoulders and soak up the warmth between their bodies. Reborn didn't bother with heading out the human way, merely concentrated, Folded the space between his and Tsuna's houses, and stepped through the portal.

He didn't bother much with decorum when they reached the bedroom. Merely tossed Tsuna on the bed and went downstairs to make a few calls. Tsuna knew where all the sleepwear was, and knew his way around well enough to get anything else he needed. In the meantime Reborn would be setting up a very nice... gift to be sent to one Kensuke Mochida. Mammon knew his mind best – he and Verde would probably be the ones to talk to. He laughed as he thought of all the things they could do to make the brat regret hurting his Feeder.

"Hello, Mammon? It's Reborn. I've got a job for you..."

* * *

><p>Tsuna ignored the cackling figure of the vampire on the phone, rolling his eyes and stripping out of his clothes. Really, why did he always end up with the weird ones? Tossing his clothes in the at the bottom of the bed, he padded his way to the bathroom, shivering as a blast of warm air greeted him. Really, he wasn't in love with Reborn because the vampire was rich, but being pampered like this after a long day was <em>nice. <em>He brushed his teeth, took care of business, and hopped into a hot shower, groaning when the water hit his skin. Reborn usually preferred him clean for a feeding, but he never minded if Tsuna stayed in a bit longer just to soak up the warmth of the water.

When he finally staggered out twenty minutes later, Reborn had made his calls and was flicking through the TV channels, dressed down in his own black drawstring pants. He never wore a shirt for feedings, simply because it was easier on his clothing. He had a lot of white shirts, and blood on white was a bitch to get out without leaving a stain behind. Plus there was no telling how long the feeding would go on for – some nights he wanted more, other nights less. By the time they were done, the blood would often have set already, which meant a ruined shirt.

Reborn smiled at him as he dried off. "Feel better?"

"Have I ever told you how much I love your bathroom?"

His smile became a smirk. "It might have been mentioned once or twice already, yes. Of course, if you insist on heaping praise on me, I'm not adverse to it."

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Keep that up and you'll get a swelled head."

"You mean I don't already have one?" Putting on a shocked expression, Reborn patted his head as if to assure himself of the fact. Tsuna just rolled his eyes again and went to get dressed, choosing one of the buttoned shirts for the night. He didn't even bother buttoning it up, merely slid into bed besides Reborn, purring happily at the feeling of the goose-feather pillows and silken sheets surrounding him. Reborn watched him with no small amount of amusement.

"You really need to be spoiled more," was all he said. Tsuna hummed in a vague response, shutting his eyes and feeling Reborn's fingers run through his hair, combing it back away from his neck. Tsuna wiggled around, flopping onto his back and letting Reborn loom above him. He would never confess it out loud, but he felt safe under Reborn like this. Nothing could hurt him, or get close to, before Reborn would tear it apart. And it wasn't like such thoughts were false either; he'd seen Reborn kill to keep him safe before, hell he'd watched the vampire tear a man's throat out with his teeth. If that wasn't protection of the finest degree, Tsuna didn't know what was.

Reborn maneuvered himself so that he sat between Tsuna's parted legs, one hand on his hip, the other on his side. Tsuna relaxed, letting the warmth and comfort lull him down. When Reborn moved forward, nose brushing against his neck, breath warm on his skin, Tsuna tilted his head to the side, offering up his neck to the being he trusted more than words would ever say.

He did twitch a bit when the fangs pricked his neck, but the pain was brief, and quickly overcome by the feelings of _calm-safe-peace _that always came with the merging between their minds. So he let his eyes slide shut and Reborn take what he needed, bits of information passed between them silently and assimilated into that void-like mind. Reborn's mental touch felt much like his hands, calloused and familiar. His own mind didn't balk even when he reached especially deep, tracing the red line of that morning's conversation back to the knowledge surrounding the project he'd been working on and all its little details.

The further he explored, the more Tsuna could feel his appreciation and surprise. He was impressed by the thought Tsuna had given to it, the amount of time and dedication to studying it the younger man had done, and ultimately saddened when, just as Tsuna was going to test it out, the chance had been dashed from him.

Beneath that, Tsuna felt a layer of smug superiority, the kind he only ever felt when Reborn had a plan up his sleeve to humiliate someone else. Tsuna poked at it, sending a questioning probe at it. Reborn sent back the impression of the calender, specifically the word reading _Saturday. _Today was only Thursday – he'd have to wait a couple days to see whatever he had planned come to fruition.

Before Tsuna had a chance to reply to that, Reborn's mental presence was pulling away, his teeth withdrawing, and suddenly it was much harder to open eyes Tsuna had never been aware of closing. He felt tired to a degree that alarmed him, and dizzy too. Reborn drew back, away from him. Tsuna heard him get off the bed and hurry to the kitchen for something. He came back only a few minutes later, and pressed something glass to Tsuna's lips, urging him to drink.

The taste of dragon fruit and cherries filled Tsuna's mouth, followed by the after-taste of gin. He ignored it and swallowed as ordered. When the last of the drink was gone, he could open his eyes, and didn't feel dizzy. "Wha-?"

"Blood replenisher." Seeing Tsuna's look, he smiled. "Lal's doing. She always makes sure I keep a few in stock just in case I do something like this. Sorry. I got caught up in seeing your project, and lost track of how much I was drinking."

"It's okay," he slurred, then yawned. Sleep sounded very appealing right now. Evidently Reborn knew what he wanted, because he pulled the blankets from the bottom of the bed up, tucking them up to Tsuna's chin.

"Get some rest. You'll probably be out for a while. Good thing you don't have anything planned for tomorrow, hm?"

Tsuna tried to tell him that he _did _have things planned, but his eyelids were too heavy, and so was his tongue. He didn't even have a chance to hum before sleep claimed him.

He woke up two days later, replenished of both energy and blood. Reborn grinned sheepishly at him upon seeing him up and moving around, and went downstairs. He returned with a tray of Tsuna's favorites and a cup of hot tea. He always kept some human food around for when Tsuna visited. He couldn't eat the stuff himself, but Tsuna couldn't drink blood either, so it was the best compromise they could come up with, apart from buying take-out, which Tsuna didn't like.

"How are you feeling?" Reborn asked as Tsuna gulped the tea down.

"Better." Spearing a piece of salisbury steak, he asked, "What about you?"

"Fine. Sated, if that's what you're wondering. I took more than enough." He winced. "You should probably call Lal. I told her what happened and she wants to make sure you're not stupid now."

"Alright. I'll do it after breakfast." He paused. "Today's Saturday, isn't it?"

"Yep." Reborn nodded.

"Oh dear. Should I be ready to duck?"

The vampire snorted. "I'm not that bad. But no, not this time. I went more with the humiliation route than the physical terror aspect. Kensuke Mochida should not bother you again if he ever wants to have a shred of dignity left before he dies."

The plate was cleared before long, and as promised Tsuna gave Lal a call. Her immediate reaction was to scream at him for being stupid enough to get cozy with a vampire in the first place, and once that was done, ask him if he felt sick or if he was seeing doubles and such. His answer to all were a resounding no; after a few more minutes of scolding him she said her goodbyes and left to yell at someone else for a while.

"Let me guess, she yell at you for getting cozy with me?"

"Stop reading my mind," Tsuna grunted as he changed into the (now clean) clothes he'd worn before.

"I'm not reading your mind, I just know Lal," Reborn told him. "I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to."

"I want to."

So that was that. Although the real reason for Reborn wanting to walk Tsuna home came when the brunet got home and found Kensuke camping out on his doorstep. "Uh..."

The boy jumped up as though bitten, eyes wide and hands more than a little twitchy. "Wha-who? Oh, Sawada thank _god. _Look, I'm sorry about the other day, okay? Really sorry. Super, really sorry even. I had no right to mock you and even less to toss your... um, thing out in the middle of the road, okay? So-so you forgive me now, right?"

Tsuna spared a glance at Reborn, who looked smug. "Uh, sure. Apology accepted. But what-"

"Great, perfect, fantastic! Thanks! Now I can actually get a decent night's sleep, and maybe stop hearing voices every time I close my eyes." His smile looked just a tad unhinged.

Tsuna looked back at Reborn in alarm. "You said you had humiliatedhim, not made him crazy!"

"Oh relax, its just because he's been awake for two days. He'll be fine once he gets some sleep. And he was humiliated. Mammon gave him something to _think _on for the last two days. He knows who his betters are."

"You're incorrigible," Tsuna grumbled, watching as Kensuke darted off, heading back for home.

"And you're adorable." Reborn planted a kiss on his cheek, ignoring how Tsuna immediately rubbed his cheek on his shirt like a child with his mother. "I'll see you later, Tsunayoshi. Try not to overwork yourself, okay?"

All in all, Reborn reflected as he strolled back home, it had been a good three days. A nice meal had been eaten, some snuggling had gone on with his loved one, and an enemy had been put in his place. All was well in the world as far as he was concerned.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Notes<span>

Got this idea from an RP Randomizer on Tumblr. I basically applied the situation to Tsuna and Reborn and picked something from each category. In order, I got: _Meet in a mall – Emotionally wounded (Tsuna) – Content (Reborn) – Friends – Positive – Vampires. _This was rather fun to write, and truthfully a scenario I couldn't have imagined on my own. I'm not very creative when it comes to little drabbles like this, I find.

So yeah, hope you enjoyed it. Comments, questions, concerns, leave them behind and I'll get to them. Happy hols, everybody!


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